Customer Reviews

A Criminal Appeal

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A wonderful mystery which keeps one guessing until the end. As a career prosecutor, I am often wary of stories where the main character is wrongly accused. Most such novels have little basis in reality and play to the general public's belief that the police intentionally seek to convict innocent persons. D.R. Schanker has taken this basic premise and written a believable, yet suspenseful novel.

Mr. Schanker, as a former law clerk, portrays the complexities of the appellate system with an accurate desciption of the many pitfalls of legal procedure and practice. I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a fresh and exciting murder mystery.

D.R. Schanker's debut novel "A Criminal Appeal" is a fast paced thriller that introduces the unforgettably big-boned law school grad & 1st year law clerk Nora Lumsey. As a clerk for an Indiana Court of Appeals judge, Ms. Lumsey is assigned to write an opinion confirming the murder conviction of 10-year-old Dexter Hinton. Dexter is a deaf, Black child who confessed to the crime of killing an elderly white woman in a drive-by robbery and shooting. After Dexter's conviction, his grandfather submits a type-written appeal to the Indiana Court of Appeals.

When the appeal and trial transcripts find themselves in Ms. Lumsey's hands with explicit instructions from the judge to affirm the conviction, the plot thickens. Nora discovers that Dexter's grandfather, Carl Hinton, lives two houses accross from her. Intrigued by the case, Nora begins to dive into the trial transcripts and starts to question the legality of Dexter's confession and conviction.

She comes face to face with Carl then finds herself invited to his church where he meets Owedia, Dexter's former teacher. Owedia is a sweet, kind woman who is as passionate to Dexter's plight as Carl. She slowly pulls Nora farther into Dexter's case. Against Nora's moral and ethical judgement she accompanies Carl on a trip to see Dexter, then she is pulled further into Dexter's world. The story introduces Nora to racial tensions, gang violence and penitentiary life as a juvenile. With pressure from the judge to hand in the affirming opinion, Nora must choose between her professional ethics and her emotional preservations.

In a gripping, suspenseful novel, D. R. Schanker keeps the reader guessing about the outcome. Each chapter leaves one wondering just what will Nora's next move be and how far will she go to follow her convictions? The author offers a realistic look into inner-city youth, and has simplified the legal appeals process as well.

The majority of the legal thrillers today contain most of the fiction in how the procedures of the law are followed. Not this book! It captured the frustration, tedium and politics of legal procedure *without being boring*. Mr. Schanker has provided the readers with a wonderful novel. It is gripping, thoughtful and moving. He brings home the realities of urban plight, racism and gangs. Though one battle may be won, the war is not over.

Schanker has created one of the best heroines the suspense genre's seen in a long time. Nora is appealingly awkward, but earnest and frank about her own shortcomings. The book's plot is thinner than its characters, but ends remarkably well, and is still plausible and engaging. I can't wait for the next Nora Lumsey novel, and would recommend this one.

I have just finished reading A Criminal Appeal. It is an excellent, well-paced novel. The characters are developed and believable. The novel has given me insights into life in and around Indianapolis, the intricacies of legal appeals system, and gangs.

The book is entertaining to read but most importantly, the ending is thought provoking.

I would highly recommend this book.

Tightly-writen, with a heroine you can root for in a world that is close and yet just out of reach. Read the other reviews for a plot summary, just trust me that this book is a "YES".

Nora Lunsey's first job as a lawyer is working as a legal clerk for Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Albertson. Proud of being a big boned woman, Nora is currently writing an opinion that convicts (as an adult) ten-year old Dexter Hinton, of killing a white woman. The deaf child has confessed he did the crime.

Though she knows better, Nora cannot stop herself from getting emotionally involved in the case. She starts to doubt the confession and subsequently that Dexter is the murderer. Nora, with the help of Dexter's teacher, begins to investigate what really happened even though it could cost her more than a lucrative job. Interference could bar her from practicing law and face criminal charges of her own. There are several folks wanting her dead to stop her inquiries, but even all that fails to stop the determined Nora from trying to insure justice and not the law prevails.

The story line does justice to the legal thriller sub-genre and should elate fans that a new author with fresh ideas has entered the fray. The characters, who come from all walks of life, are all brilliantly developed and add to the authentic feel of the novel by making Indianapolis and the surrounding areas feel alive. However, what makes D.R. Schanker's debut novel so good is Nora, who is one genre's best new characters. Hopefully, more tales starring Nora will soon follow.

Harriet Klausner

The cover of A Criminal Appeal, by D.R. Schanker, says "The truth doesn't always set you free. Sometimes it takes a damn good lawyer." Actually, this story puts the lie to that statement, showing instead that achieving justice sometimes has nothing to do with the law, but rather comes down to simple faith, tenacity, and hard-headedness. Also, being big-boned seems to genetically predispose Schanker's protagonist, Nora Lumsey, for the role of the crusader.

Nora is a newly-minted lawyer working as a clerk for an appeals court judge in Indiana who has before him an appeal dealing with a robbery and shooting of an elderly white woman allegedly committed by a 10-year-old, deaf Black boy named Dexter. Nora is assigned Dexter's appeal and the judge instructs her to write an opinion affirming the conviction. Under ordinary circumstances, Nora would feel only an ordinary level of sympathy and pity for the boy whose life will be wasted serving a 55-year sentence for murder. But it turns out that Dexter's grandfather, Carl, who submitted Dexter's appeal, lives two houses away from Nora. And, as Nora reminds us throughout the story, being big-boned has endowed her with an inordinate amount of stubborn righteousness, and she wants to try to help Dexter.

Curious about the circumstances of the case, and heedless of the conflict inherent in a judge's clerk independently investigating the case, not to mention the blatant violation of judicial rules and ethics, Nora seeks out Carl's acquaintance. Almost instantly, she finds herself being drawn into the case, being invited by Carl to attend church with him, to go to the reform school to meet Dexter, and to meet Dexter's former teacher, named Owedia. Owedia's persistent efforts to involve Nora in trying to free Dexter are met with feeble resistance (Nora tells her she can't get too involved because "I work for the State.") and eventually Nora finds herself enmeshed in the search for the truth of who committed the murder. She fails to convince the judge to overturn the conviction, and despite the danger to her career, she continues to pursue the case, following up leads that take her into seedy neighborhoods and into a world of gang violence she has never experienced firsthand. When the situation turns dangerous, possibly deadly, Nora's big-boned bravado and Owedia's deeply religious faith carry them through.

The major themes in the story are the nature of racial prejudice, the fallibility of the judicial system, and the importance of community and individuals helping others. In the face of corrupt and ambitious politicians, a porous judicial system that allows innocent people to slip through the cracks, and a religious establishment incestuously involved with political machines, it is the individuals willing to put their faith and convictions on the line -- those who will not walk away or hide behind pragmatism -- who set the best example in this story and who accomplished true justice. The story is engaging and uplifting even when the plot takes depressing turns. As a lawyer, Schenker understands his subject matter very well and is able to translate the legal jargon effectively for the lay person. Schenker writes an engaging story which was rewarded with a nomination in 1999 for the prestigious Edgar Award.

Let me continue the litany of praise for this first time writier and Edgar nominee.

A Criminal Appeal was not just a satisfying read, it was exquisite. It was also realistic. Caution: if you start A Criminal Appeal you better not have any other plans such as sleep because you'll just hate to interrupt this tightly told tale of suspense, legality, conflict, racism, family love set against a backdrop of life-like machinations of the justice system.

Oh yes, and let me also join the chorus of praise for big boned women, whom up til now I have apparently overlooked. Camryn Mannheim of the tv's The Practice is a look alike for Schanker's Nora.

There were two authors in this genre I would buy in hardcover at $25.00 as soon as I see their books in the bookstore. Now Schanker joins Robert B. Parker and James Patterson in that category. He certainly is getting into their catergory in weaving a tale.

This is a very strong debut from a talented author. This Is Schankers first novel and it was awards the Bookline Hyper-Modern pick for the month of August. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy because with a print run of 2500 or so.... it's soon to be a hard to find first.